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The Remedy for Love

Bill Roorbach (Goodreads Author)

3.26 · Rating details · 1,750 ratings · 290 reviews

The Remedy for Love is a harrowing story about the truths we reveal when there is no time or space for artifice.

They're calling it the "Storm of the Century," so Eric stops at the market for provisions on his way home from work. But when the unkempt and seemingly unstable young woman in front of him in line comes up short on cash, a kind of old-school charity takes hold of ...more

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Hardcover, 320 pages

Published October 14th 2014 by Algonquin Books

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Feb 01, 2015 Idarah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2015

I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. It seems like I’ve caught a nasty strain of the flu virus every other year since I can remember, and I can always associate each episode with the book that I nursed in bed. A Great Deliverance was one of them, so was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Both books hold a special place in my reader’s heart.

This year was quite different though. I was seriously put out of commission! I spent a week and a half staring at the wall and sleeping with the TCM network I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump. It seems like I’ve caught a nasty strain of the flu virus every other year since I can remember, and I can always associate each episode with the book that I nursed in bed. A Great Deliverance was one of them, so was The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Both books hold a special place in my reader’s heart.

This year was quite different though. I was seriously put out of commission! I spent a week and a half staring at the wall and sleeping with the TCM network tuned at all hours of the night. Reading was next to impossible! What was even more surprising was how long it took to even formulate the desire to read once I got better–this is the book that pulled me out of the illness induced slump. I was hooked from the first line:

“THE YOUNG WOMAN ahead of him in line at the Hannaford Superstore was unusually fragrant, smelled like wood smoke and dirty clothes and cough drops or maybe Ben- Gay, eucalyptus anyway. She was all but mummified in an enormous coat leaking feathers, some kind of army- issue garment from another era, huge hood pulled over her head.”

Set on the eve of the “snowstorm of the century” in Maine, Eric Neil, a small town lawyer, is in the midst of preparing for a monthly visit from his estranged wife by a trip to the grocery store. While in line, he comes across Danielle, a “ghost” living on the outskirts of town in an abandoned cabin. Through a series of events, the two end up stranded together at the height of the storm. Complete strangers, and not necessarily taken with each other, the two come to learn about themselves and each other through a forced intimacy based on circumstance.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. At first I wasn’t sure how the “suspense” part would come into play, but this really is a survival story, and I’m always a sucker for those. It was also deeply personal and psychological; it's the perfect read for a snowy day by the fire with a cup of coffee. I also couldn’t help thinking how this would make a great play or movie. Up until this book, I’d never even heard of Roorbach, but he seems to be a well-known Maine author. I’d be interested to read some of his fiction and non-fiction works. ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Snotchocheez rated it really liked it

(I know if you're like me you're probably sick of Goodreads spam, but here's just a wee bit of personal spam that hopefully won't irritate you: A huge Thank you to one of the awesomest Goodreads authors out there, Roxane Gay who I received this book from in her massive library giveaway; Like an ingrate I've yet to read, or own, any books of hers, but I swear I will rectify that as soon as I can because she's the coolest!)

Okay, so I receive Roxane's gift, (which I was really excited about (I know if you're like me you're probably sick of Goodreads spam, but here's just a wee bit of personal spam that hopefully won't irritate you: A huge Thank you to one of the awesomest Goodreads authors out there, Roxane Gay who I received this book from in her massive library giveaway; Like an ingrate I've yet to read, or own, any books of hers, but I swear I will rectify that as soon as I can because she's the coolest!)

Okay, so I receive Roxane's gift, (which I was really excited about because, although I didn't totally love Roorbach's Life Among Giants, his writing style kinda reminds me of John Irving and David James Duncan in a quirky kinda way), and again like an ingrate, promptly shelved it when the laudatory jacket blurb quotes (from, of all people, Peter Heller and David Abrams, authors with hardly any romantic bent whatsoever) confirmed my worst fears about the somewhat cheezy title: The Remedy for Love is a romance! Ack! (And not just a romance, says Abrams, who evidently wrote a novel about the war in Afghanistan, but "...a flat-out funny, sexy, and poignant romantic thriller"). Kack! Nonononono. Next, please.

Then I started feeling guilty about Ms. Gay's largesse, pullled the book off back off the shelf and stared at all that snow on the cover. (You see, here in Alabama, weather concerns are huge, and with good reason lately: even the threat of a mere tenth of an inch of snow is enough to call a school snow day--as they've done for six of the last eight days--simply because there's hardly any means to keep the backroads, or any roads, from turning into skating rinks lined with car-swallowing ditches). So, what the heck, cheezy romance or no, had to give it a try.

All my blah blah above is to mask the fact that this is a really simple story, with (essentially) three characters: Eric, an altruistic, somewhat ambitionless "small town barrister" of tiny Woodchuck (er, Woodchurch), Maine; Danielle, a transient-ish, unkempt, kinda feral woman with serious issues; and snow, shit-tons of snow, 30-foot high drifts of snow, courtesy of an upcoming 'Storm of the Century". Eric meets Danielle in the check-out line at the local grocery store (when she lacks enough money to pay for her Advil, ramen noodles, and boxes of wine) sees her hobbling on the roadway toting her heavy groceries, and, goodheartedly offers her a lift home before the storm hits.

Super cheezy, right? Surprisingly, no. Roorbach's greatest asset is sharply realized character development, and we are treated to a fascinating look at two completely disparate lives. Their chance meeting, which takes them back to Danielle's squatter cabin just barely before the aforementioned third character arrives with a vengeance, reveals the other two characters' compelling back stories.

I expected this to be a cringe fest, yet I gobbled this up in six hours, with nary an eye roll (okay, I confess, I actually teared up toward the end). Overfamiliar? Probably. (though not to me; I almost never read books like this). Embarrassingly enough, this grabbed my heart and didn't let go. (Of course, it may just be my anticipating our own 6" 'Storm of the Century' predicted for tomorrow, and living vicariously through Eric.) All I know is, this is a gazillion times better than the one Nicholas Sparks novel I read. ...more

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Oct 20, 2014 Erika Robuck rated it it was amazing

Compulsively readable, this is the kind of novel you want to devour in one night, next to a fire, with an endless glass of wine, and blankets, lots of blankets. THE REMEDY FOR LOVE is a superb psychological study with memorable characters in a terrifying situation. I haven't been this captivated or uncomfortable in a room since reading ROOM. Highly recommended for lovers of literary novels steeped in suspense.

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Jul 26, 2014 switterbug (Betsey) rated it liked it

I was drawn to this novel, my first Bill Roorbach, by the quirkiness of the plot blurb. I suspected that it would be a character study more than anything else, and in that I was correct. Eric, a small-town lawyer in Maine, finds himself half-reluctantly helping a vagrant-looking young woman after he has an odd experience with her in a grocery store. He follows her out to a rural and isolated cabin in the woods, as the snowstorm of the century (or ever!) begins to pile it higher and deeper. He I was drawn to this novel, my first Bill Roorbach, by the quirkiness of the plot blurb. I suspected that it would be a character study more than anything else, and in that I was correct. Eric, a small-town lawyer in Maine, finds himself half-reluctantly helping a vagrant-looking young woman after he has an odd experience with her in a grocery store. He follows her out to a rural and isolated cabin in the woods, as the snowstorm of the century (or ever!) begins to pile it higher and deeper. He intends to be the gentleman that he is and help this raggedy, dirty, disheveled woman; yet, the more he reaches out to Danielle, the more it is evident that he is a needy case, also.

Danielle’s flinty, nihilistic voice is a compelling contrast to Eric’s more pathetic and tender one. He is hanging on to an obviously finished marriage with a denial and hope that is transparently futile (to everyone but him), and also reaching out to Danielle for friendship. However, Danielle is guarded at best, and generally caustic, pushing Eric away with her volatile behavior and harsh words. Eric’s life is like an open book, while Danielle’s is a closed and secret history, revealing itself gradually toward its obliquely foreshadowed but shocking conclusion. The auguring serves to authenticate the climax without ruining it.

In the meantime, as the storm gets more severe, the cabin they are sequestered in starts to groan, hiss, creak, and croak. (Eric’s car, with his cell phone in it, has been towed from where he parked it—there’s a story behind that.) As the novel progresses, the cabin itself becomes like a character, a vulnerable one victimized by the snowstorm. Roorbach mixes levity with horror as Eric and Danielle’s lives become increasingly imperiled. Their opposite natures are inclined to avalanche, until it becomes clear that they are going to have to establish a sense of working together in order to survive.

Roorbach creates penetrating and realistic characters. The theme of survival is both literal and metaphorical, as Eric and Danielle struggle to maintain safety and life, while any higher purposes that they possess are disclosed and put to a tense and high-wire test. At times, I wanted the plot to move along more swiftly, especially when more predictable events occurred and threatened to stagnate the story. Also, my engagement with these two stunted adults sometimes bordered on my own groans and creaks. Once the reader’s insight reaches a peak, there’s a certain amount of impatience, waiting for the characters’ get-a-clue to kick in. Her “strange retractable beauty” and his tendency toward masochism periodically stretched my own tolerance limits. This is not an unforgettable book, but it has its moments.
...more

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Nov 27, 2014 Erika rated it it was ok

Bill Roorbach writes complete sentences, with correct punctuation.

This book has a plot.

There are some lines of clever dialogue.

May we consider those compliments worthy of the 2 stars I've bestowed?

I'm staggered by the praise this book is getting. For what? Who's getting paid off to write such over-the-top wonderful reviews? Tell me, please, what I'm missing. The novel's premise is coy and predictable -- but could've been shaped in a compelling manner. Instead: a character so irritating and ...more

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Nov 13, 2014 Larry H rated it liked it

The state of Maine is about to get hit with what is being called "the storm of the century." Small-town attorney Eric stops by the grocery store to stock up on some high-end provisions (fancy cheese, good wine, etc.) in preparation for a visit from his estranged wife. He finds himself in line behind Danielle, an unkempt woman he assumes to be homeless, who is having trouble coming up with all of the money she needs to buy her groceries. Rather than cause a scene, he pays the difference, then The state of Maine is about to get hit with what is being called "the storm of the century." Small-town attorney Eric stops by the grocery store to stock up on some high-end provisions (fancy cheese, good wine, etc.) in preparation for a visit from his estranged wife. He finds himself in line behind Danielle, an unkempt woman he assumes to be homeless, who is having trouble coming up with all of the money she needs to buy her groceries. Rather than cause a scene, he pays the difference, then offers her a ride.

When they arrive at the cabin where Danielle has been staying, a sense of concern comes over Eric. Given the anticipated storm, Danielle needs water and firewood, not to mention more food than she has. And while she's willing to accept a bit of his help, she's more than ready for him to leave her alone. But when Eric finds himself stranded, without a car or a cell phone, the only place he has to go is back to Danielle's cabin—and she's not happy about that, to say the least.

As the storm unleashes its fury, the two forge a tenuous agreement to ride it out together. But as lies are told, truths are revealed, and both the right and the wrong things are said, Danielle and Eric aren't sure if sticking together is the right decision. And Mother Nature has her own ideas. Is Danielle emotional, unstable, and/or possibly dangerous? Is Eric the victim he has painted himself out to be?

The Remedy for Love is an intriguing look at two people who are far more complicated than they appear. Danielle and Eric have some interesting banter, open some painful and emotional wounds, and get in each other's faces, and you're not exactly sure what is going to happen. The stranded-in-a-storm thing has been done before, but Bill Roorbach mines it for all it's worth, and most of the time it works, although there are a few somewhat unbelievable turns the story takes.

I felt the book would have been stronger had it focused solely on Eric and Danielle, but it spent a little too much time also providing the framework of Eric's relationship with Alison, his estranged wife. (And given all of the detail Roorbach provided, I still don't know if I understood what really happened with them.) Danielle, in particular, is really intriguing, but her dialogue is a mix of intellectual and street patois that irritated me at times. The two spend a lot of time dancing around proverbial elephants in the room without actually discussing many of them, and I found the ending a little disjointed. (Maybe someone who read the book can message me and tell me how they think it ended?)

Bill Roorbach is a very talented writer; his first novel, Life Among Giants, boasted another fascinating main character. The Remedy for Love is a strong character study, but one that left me with a few more questions than it did answers. ...more

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Feb 10, 2017 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: winter-is-wonderful

I really enjoyed this hard-to-categorize book: a character study of two deeply damaged but extremely sympathetic individuals. They are strangers, yet they find themselves trapped in a dilapidated cabin with no electricity during a serious blizzard of epic proportions. So right away you know I'm into it. I love a good snow storm. But this was much more than that. It was a really moving story and very unique. The title and cover threw me off in a big way. This is in no way a sappy romance. That's ...more

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Oct 12, 2014 Amy rated it really liked it

Eric is one of those people who seems like a human duckling: he allows himself to be imprinted upon by whatever he sees first.

He’s a great guy – don’t get me wrong. You want him as your friend, and you trust him. He’s a lawyer whose clients can’t – or won’t – always pay him, and he seems blithely unconcerned. With the forecasters calling for a tumultuous storm – I’m sure all heavy symbolism is intentional – Eric stops by the market to pick up some food. His basket, though, is full of provisions ...more

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Nov 12, 2014 Jana rated it really liked it

This is a good one.

The setting was SO interesting: A snowed-in cabin in New England. Maybe cabin is too generous. A hut or shack? Mostly takes place between two very disparate people. The girl was a little off-putting to me from the beginning. I suppose she was meant to be, but I almost felt like I could smell her. Ew.

However, I warmed up to her (haha...poor choice of words in this story!). I loved the scenes of the man cooking. I want what they ate! Prepare to have an appetite when you're ...more

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Aug 09, 2014 Jennifer Tabler rated it liked it

Shelves: adult, adult-fiction, adult-romance, lawyer, romance, mental-illness, military, so-sweet, net-galley

I am reviewing this for Net Galley in exchange for an honest review! This book started out very slow and did not make any sense. I got so confused and couldn't keep up with all the jumping of topics. There were a lot of words used that I had no clue what they meant and had to go look them up online But I kept reading and the book got better. I love this type of book in fact it is my favorite type so I had to read it. This book is somewhat sexy but the girl had a lot of mental problems. Her ...more

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Dec 09, 2014 Elizabeth rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction

I cannot remember how this book came to me. I think it may have been a shout out from Peter Heller. Anyway, not a bad way to spend a couple of hours. I liked the setting the most. Here in the PNW everything closes down if there is even a whiff of snow. Back east folks are wicked prepared. However, a storm of the century traps two lonely and damaged people in a small cabin. There are reveals. There are secrets. And all the while the storm rages on. Brrr.

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Aug 07, 2019 Cheryl rated it liked it

A novel about an unlikely romance that develops when a homeless woman and a lawyer are stuck in an ill-prepared summer cabin during a dangerous snowstorm. This is not a "meet-cute" light romantic comedy. Serious issues are revealed about each character as they get to know each other. There's also a sense of danger as a snow slide threatens to push their cabin into the river, making an escape plan necessary. A good romance novel for people who don't like chick-lit romance novels.

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Dec 19, 2014 Suzanne Hall rated it it was amazing

Shelves: highly-recommended

Remedy for Love is the sort of story that you rush through to find out what happens, while simultaneously wanting it to last forever. Roorbach shows how intensity of shared experiences puts relationship development in high gear. The entire story takes place over the course of just a few days (the duration of a killer blizzard) and yet truths about self, love, sexuality, and dysfunction are laid bare.

As I approached the conclusion, I worried about how the author would wrap things up. I'd come to ...more

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Aug 25, 2014 David Abrams rated it it was amazing

Take two strangers—Eric, a small-town lawyer, and Danielle, a former schoolteacher turned homeless squatter—put them in a cabin in the Maine woods, spice it up with a little romantic tension, stir in the wreckage of past love affairs, sprinkle liberally with sharp, funny dialogue, then add the Storm of the Century which buries the cabin in huge drifts of snow, and—voila!—you've got The Remedy for Love, one of the best novels of this or any year. I'm not a doctor, but I'll be prescribing Bill ...more

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Nov 19, 2014 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

In the hands of a lesser writer, a novel about two emotionally-damaged people (one obviously so, the other keeping it hidden) trapped in a snowed-in cabin might be a recipe for literary claustrophobia. But Bill Roorbach adds a secret doorway that opens the story up to a greater world of relationships and trust and hurt and deceit and romance. The storm-bound characters fight their way through tough emotional obstacles to find bravery, then trust and finally love, and in the process develop the ...more

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Nov 25, 2014 Barb rated it did not like it

After reading some of the reviews on the cover of this book, I was anxious to read “The Remedy for Love” by Bill Roorbach. A romance novel written by a man would certainly have a different slant than those written by most romance novelists. Well, I was right about that.

I had a most difficult time trying to figure out the characters, the plot, the dialogue…just about everything about this novel was beyond me. I know it is the story of two people, two strangers, trapped in a ramshackle cabin ...more

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Apr 07, 2015 Beth Weisberger rated it it was ok

Shelves: norway-library-bookclub

Eh, the characters weren't that compelling to me. Nor was this romance believable. The plot was cute, though--I think I would have enjoyed it as a short story. As a full length novel, I found it drawn out and redundant.

Heading to "old ladies library book club." Maybe I'll
Like the book more once I hear what the 70 year olds thought of all the cock grabbing and hairy leg references. :-)

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Aug 12, 2014 HEChapter -Tina J rated it liked it

Shelves: sexy-contemporary, arc-and-beta

The Remedy for Love by Bill Roorbach

*** This DRC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

"Danielle for-now" immediately gives off the impression of a squatter living outside town. Her personality seems to suggest a mental disorder may be at play. The way she speaks and her social skills & manners are odd. It's almost like a Schizophrenic - Autistic combo. Maybe some dementia. She's odd. You never know if what she's telling you is true or make-believe. She speaks of her The Remedy for Love by Bill Roorbach

*** This DRC was provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review ***

"Danielle for-now" immediately gives off the impression of a squatter living outside town. Her personality seems to suggest a mental disorder may be at play. The way she speaks and her social skills & manners are odd. It's almost like a Schizophrenic - Autistic combo. Maybe some dementia. She's odd. You never know if what she's telling you is true or make-believe. She speaks of her husband Jim often but parts of her story changes as she tells things.

Eric is a small-town, still (mostly-not) married lawyer. He is suddenly overcome with a need to provide for and protect this woman he is standing in line behind. The odoriferous, tattered creature at the grocery store is trying to pay for some groceries, but comes up short. Eric covers her shortage, then further pushes by offering her a ride home from the store, which he learns is nearly six miles away, with a winter storm moving in. Then he feels obligated to help her carry her groceries to a cabin tucked WAY back off the road as the weather worsens. This is all happening as the little town is gearing up for "The Storm of the Century" as the meteorologists are calling it. He does more for her, eventually becoming stranded there himself. The cabin is is a summer place. There is zero winterization, no plumbing for water or restrooms, and no electricity.

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My first impression of this book is that it is strangely written. Some sentences qualify as a paragraph, while other sentences are a single word. The choice of wording and phrasing also, at times, seems... disjointed, erratic, unclear. (I found it NOT to be an easy read and comprehension was murky sometimes on the first pass, having to read it once -or more- again.)

They are stranded together in this secluded cabin after his car is towed and their "relationship" is extremely dysfunctional. The characters and writing was so chaotic at times, it really was hard to develop any kind of attachment to Danielle and/or Eric. Both are married, but not, but are. (Does that make any sense?) The plot was fantastic, however. I truly enjoyed the concept. The conflicts, as they arose, were met with satisfactory resolve. The ending was a little loose, but sufficient. I would have liked to see an Epilogue that entailed Eric's marital status. Jim's situation was predictable though.

Overall, I nearly felt that I needed medication from all the craziness this book contained. It was truly chaotic and challenging to get through. I have to take "stars" off for the level of insanity, but feel I need to say again that I did not necessarily dislike the characters & I did like the concept.

Perhaps I found it not-as appealing because I am female? Positive reviews are coming from male readers. Maybe it is geared more towards the male population.
3.25/5.0
...more

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Oct 21, 2014 Jill rated it really liked it

This is a deeply moving, powerful story that explores love and intimacy in the face of loneliness, fear and loss. It begins at the onset of a huge blizzard in Maine. Eric, a 34-year old lawyer separated from his wife Alison (at her initiative), helps a young homeless-looking woman get her groceries to her cabin in the woods, and then the two of them get stuck there as the storm worsens.

The woman, Danielle, 28, is thin, unkempt, and bruised; clearly she is frightened of Eric and keeps telling him This is a deeply moving, powerful story that explores love and intimacy in the face of loneliness, fear and loss. It begins at the onset of a huge blizzard in Maine. Eric, a 34-year old lawyer separated from his wife Alison (at her initiative), helps a young homeless-looking woman get her groceries to her cabin in the woods, and then the two of them get stuck there as the storm worsens.

The woman, Danielle, 28, is thin, unkempt, and bruised; clearly she is frightened of Eric and keeps telling him her husband Jimmy will be back any moment. Eric has no wish to take advantage of Danielle even as he knows Jimmy couldn’t get home if he tried, no more than Eric can get out. So Eric and Danielle try to make the best of the situation - each in their own way. Over the course of their confinement, a strange and wonderful intimacy develops between them. It turns out they each need rescuing, and they come up with an unusual way to make it happen.

Discussion: There is some beautifully crafted and evocative writing in this book. When Eric looks out from the cabin at the falling snow:

"...gazing long, [he] admired the birches bowed in fair arcs on the far bank, balsam firs like court ladies in tiered dresses, green emerging only darkly from the strange humps where whole jungles of alder ought to be."

And how perfectly illuminating when Eric contemplates what went wrong with his marriage, thinking about how he and Alison started to argue about the minutest factual things:

"...these two people who deeply agreed on everything getting as hot over details of their orthodoxy as the old protestant pastors, nuanced positions breaking the church of their romance into splinters and then splinters of splinters, sharp things to be deployed at any time."

Or this stunning passage, when Eric begins to notice Danielle's odd appeal:

"Something startling in the shapes her clavicles made, not that he was looking. She'd startled him all day with her strange, retractable beauty, like a cat's claws."

Evaluation: This is a lovely book. I was reminded a great deal of Tom McNeal’s To Be Sung Underwater. The ending here is much more uplifting, but the adult exploration of the nature of love is similar. I definitely want to read the books he has written previously. Highly recommended.

Rating: 4.5/5
...more

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May 30, 2015 Mary rated it it was ok

I wanted to like this so badly. And I did at first. The opening scene in a Hannaford grocery store: I felt like I've witnessed that scene, even been one of the people in line behind Eric, a dozen times. I was sucked in by all of the survival plotline: I loved all of the bits about gathering wood and water and trying to survive in a summer camp without electricity and plumbing in the middle of a massive winter storm. And I wanted to know more about this female character: why her hair was chopped ...more

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Dec 06, 2014 Amy rated it really liked it

Wondering what it would be like to be snowed in like many in Western New York? Bill Roorbach focuses on a “storm of the century” in his latest novel, The Remedy for Love. Typical of anyone who lived in a snowy area when an unprecedented storm is forecast for much of Maine, local lawyer Eric stops at the market for a few things. Ahead of him in line is someone unknown to the small town, a young woman in what appears to be dire straits. When she does not have enough money to pay for her items Eric ...more

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Sep 30, 2014 Cindy rated it liked it

Shelves: librarything-giveaways

The Remedy For Love has to be one of the most unusual books that I have ever read. I guess I would describe it as a romantic novel in a strange way. There are really only two characters in the story. First there is Eric who is a lawyer, a super nice guy, and a great friend..Someone you can trust. Then there is Danielle, a former teacher who clearly has problems. The author gives the impression that she is a homeless squatter.. She is odd, bruised, lonely, frightened and very hostile. And there ...more

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Nov 11, 2014 Annette rated it liked it

Hard to describe this story. The positives: the man vs. nature aspect of the novel intrigued me most. Eric and the female character struggle to survive an epic snow storm trapped in a remote cabin in Maine.
Descriptions of the terrain, the cabin itself and the ingenuity he uses to survive were well crafted.

For me the subplot was this mystery girl and her secret past. The negative that kept me from rating this novel higher was the inability to really understand her. By the time the real reason ...more

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Nov 16, 2014 Susanna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I loved this book. I became completely absorbed in it for two days. The characterization, especially of Eric, is so good, and Roorbach artfully weaves in Eric's back story. The relationship between the two develops naturally (or un-), and the situation is believable, interesting, and eventually, quite thrilling as the weather takes over their lives. And I appreciated the way the "time out" from life gave Eric an unexpected respite to examine his life and come to a place where he's ready to grasp ...more

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Oct 07, 2014 Lee Roversi rated it really liked it

i devoured this book. in a bit of a slump with a cold and spent the better part of this sunday on my couch - first with the new york times and then with this compulsively readable novel. the sun was shining outside and my cough and i stayed contently put, taking in each chapter and eagerly turning the pages. finished in one day. great read.

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Feb 12, 2015 David added it

Don't let the title fool you. Not chick lit. I didn't see where this was going until the end of the book. Even then, I was expecting something different. Good read.

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Mar 16, 2019 Norbert rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It’s hard not to use cliches like spellbinding and a page turner to describe this book. Let me try again.

This is a story of two lonely, quietly desperate people coming together in an ordinary way, under highly unusual circumstances. They expose every weakness, willingly and unwillingly, until there’s nothing left to hide but an unfortunate tattoo. Or perhaps, not even that.

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Feb 20, 2015 Sophfronia Scott rated it it was amazing

I'd call Bill Roorbach a driver. As a writer, I mean. You get in his car, fasten your seatbelt. He hits the gas and then? Man, what a ride. He knows how to hug the most wicked curves. He can shift so smoothly it's like he and the vehicle can breathe as one. The speed is high--exhilarating, kinda scary too. But you realize he's good. Really good. After a few minutes of white-knuckling the door handle you relax and enjoy the flow.

Reading The Remedy for Love is very much like that. Roorbach takes I'd call Bill Roorbach a driver. As a writer, I mean. You get in his car, fasten your seatbelt. He hits the gas and then? Man, what a ride. He knows how to hug the most wicked curves. He can shift so smoothly it's like he and the vehicle can breathe as one. The speed is high--exhilarating, kinda scary too. But you realize he's good. Really good. After a few minutes of white-knuckling the door handle you relax and enjoy the flow.

Reading The Remedy for Love is very much like that. Roorbach takes what on the surface looks like your run of the mill Honda Civic kind of story--a man and a woman snowbound in a tiny cabin with few provisions in the woods of Maine--and turns it into a humming Porsche zinging with sparks highlighting the true nature of intimacy and trust.

As the novel unfolds and the snow accumulates, complications do as well, mainly owing to the oblique, flawed nature of both characters. But Roorbach cheerily drives through it all, the master of the obstacle course. And that's the reason I will keep this book and refer to it many times in the years to come: as a writer I'm impressed by how tight this book is--so well constructed. Once I finished it I wanted to start it again so I could take it apart line by line and figure out--how did he do that?

Here's what's great about The Remedy for Love:

CHARACTERS
Eric and Danielle are a prickly pair. She's practically feral when he first encounters her in line at the grocery store. He is, on the surface, a heartbroken, mild-mannered small town lawyer, but he's got an anger streak a mile wide. Roorbach presents us with these characters fully formed, from Danielle's furry, unshaven legs and mysteriously bloodied ear to the involuntary grin Eric plants on his face in times of stress. Of course we don't know everything about them, but Roorbach skillfully sidles up to their pasts with properly sized and placed flashbacks and anecdotes.

PACING
Nothing drags in this book, not even the flashbacks. It's quite a feat, especially when so much of the time its two characters are just sitting in front of a woodstove. But there's something theatrical about the way Roorbach has things happen. You know not to look away, not for a moment.

DIALOGUE
If you're writing a craft book, get your dialogue samples here. The dialogue in this book is so crisp and fast it practically sings. Eric and Danielle's exchanges are also heavy with subtext--they can talk a lot about what they don't want to say, but information comes out anyway. Truth-telling is optional.

One note of caution: if you live in a place that endured a winter like the one we had here in the Northeast, you'll want to read this book in the summer, ideally during a heat wave. The snowy weather system the author describes is truly frightening, the Storm of the Century, as Eric hears it called. Fortunately for us, as readers, Roorbach's novel is a vehicle equipped with 4-wheel drive. ...more

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Nov 03, 2014 Virginia Campbell rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, romance, regional, cultural, contemporary, mystery, fiction, suspense

Once you start reading "The Remedy for Love", you will literally be compelled to see it through to the outcome. Author Bill Roorbach has created an unusually involving contemporary tale, a romance in spite of itself, which is also a curious, cautionary adventure. In the small, rural town of Woodchurch, Maine, Eric is an attorney with a moderate law practice. He cooks, savors his food and wine, and waits for his big-city wife, Alison, to make increasingly infrequent visits as their marriage Once you start reading "The Remedy for Love", you will literally be compelled to see it through to the outcome. Author Bill Roorbach has created an unusually involving contemporary tale, a romance in spite of itself, which is also a curious, cautionary adventure. In the small, rural town of Woodchurch, Maine, Eric is an attorney with a moderate law practice. He cooks, savors his food and wine, and waits for his big-city wife, Alison, to make increasingly infrequent visits as their marriage sputters to an end. An occasional flicker of heat here and there has kept the spark burning far longer than it should. A massive winter storm is approaching Woodchurch just as Eric awaits Alison's tentative arrival. He prepares by stocking up on foods to appeal and appease his neglectful spouse. When a bedraggled young woman in the checkout line ahead of him is unable to pay for all of his purchases, Eric helps to pay her bill. A smart mind ruled by a kind heart, Eric also helps the woman, Danielle, make her way safely home to a rustic cabin near the river. Through circumstances created by his good intentions, which include having his vehicle towed away, Eric find himself with no other shelter than the dilapidated cabin of the defensive and delusional Danielle. Being snowed in with sharp-tongued, strange woman is a far cry from being snug in his own home, making his marvelous meal, and anticipating the arrival of his absentee wife. Danielle is erratic, disheveled, and obviously a member of the walking-wounded. However, as time passes and Danielle cleans up, enjoys Eric's impromptu improvisations with food and drink, she shows flashes of character which attract Eric, and he finds himself drawn to her in unexpected ways. As the storm builds and burgeons around them, they form an uneasy alliance, and awareness of each other blooms between them. However, there are secrets swirling amidst the storm, and the forces of nature are coming down on the little cabin. Soon, the fight for survival will push all else aside, and the danger of the moment becomes far more urgent than the questions of the past and the hopes of the future. "The Remedy for Love" is the perfect read for a cold, cuddled in the house weekend--just don't let yourself get snowed in.

Book Copy Gratis Library Thing ...more

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Dec 08, 2014 Mark rated it really liked it

A massive snow storm is fast approaching western Maine, Some are calling it the Storm of the century. Eric, a small-town lawyer, stops at a local market to pick up items for dinner. In the check out lane he meets a disheveled, young woman, who is apparently homeless and possibly psychotic. She also can not pay for her groceries, so Eric, feeling empathetic, hands off his credit card. Eric, then offers to drive the woman to a small cabin, deep in the woods, just as the snow begins to fall. These ...more

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What's the Name o...: SOLVED. Fiction. a man and a woman are stranded in a cabin during a blizzard. [s]	5	58	Jan 03, 2019 08:04AM

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About Bill Roorbach

Bill Roorbach

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Bill Roorbach's newest novel is The Remedy For Love, coming October 2014 from Algonquin Books. Life Among Giants, also from Algonquin, is in development for a multi-year series at HBO, and won the 2014 Maine Literary Award in Fiction. Big Bend: Stories has just be re-released by Georgia in its Flannery O'Connor Award series. Temple Stream is soon to be re-released by Down East Books. Bill is also ...more